HPI App Review – Car Status Check

While branded as Car Status Check, this app is actually released under the name of HPI ltd. So you would expect this to be the best of the bunch. The app reviews say otherwise though, with scores of 2.5 and 3 stars on the Apple App Store and Google Play respectively. Let’s find out.

Presentation – 7/10

The app stands out from straight others off the bat. It’s strong and distinctive colours, bold text and simple menu layout make it a breeze for users to flick through each section of information and check through specifics. There are three clearly visible tabs at the top of the screen, Check Vehicle, Recent Checks and Information that do exactly what they say on the tin.

After completing a vehicle check, it is laid out into section that work a lot like drop down menus. For example the Vehicle Details section contains specifics such as Car make/model, engine size etc.

Each section that is clear is represented with a green tick to the left of it’s title. Handily, section that are not clear have a red exclamation mark, and sections that require more investigation have an amber question mark. It’s a good visual element that makes the app slightly more vibrant than others.

Usability – 5/10

The app is relatively easy to use from the get-go and immediately presents users with the ability to email themselves a PDF of the vehicle check they are about to purchase. Before purchasing a vehicle check, you are presented with the Terms and Conditions in a scrolling box. This is great as it does not hide anything from the consumer, and they don’t have to go and search for the Terms and Conditions elsewhere within the app.

Unfortunately, there is no example report available to see before you purchase, making this another game of roulette in the fact that you don’t know how your report will be displayed to you when you go ahead with a check. Couple that with the lack of information on outstanding finance or mileage and users who have used this app for that info have wasted quite a lot of money.

This does not bode well considering this is an app released by HPI ltd. themselves. It does not clearly state this within the app unless you go looking for it in the “About us” section. If a user is testing these products, chances are they have also used the official HPI check app, consequently passing on even more money for a check from the same company.

Pricing – 4/10

With a one-off payment of £7.99 you get all of the usual checks. However there are no cheaper options for less checks so, it’s either all or nothing with this app. It’s also quite disappointing to see that there are no options to pay to see the reasons behind outstanding finance or mileage, considering this app has come from HPI ltd. themselves.

Overall – 6/10

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